Sam Hornish Jr. to Start 37th at Talladega Superspeedway
April 26, 2008
TALLADEGA, Ala. (April 26, 2008) – Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the Penske Racing No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, qualified in the 37th starting position for the Aaron’s 499 on Sunday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway.
In the season-opening Daytona 500, Hornish Jr. garnered much attention and praise for his impressive 15th-place finish in his first-ever restrictor plate race in NASCAR competition. Both Hornish Jr. and the Mobil 1 team intend to build upon that previous success on Sunday and advance further in the 2008 owner points standings.
In qualifying on Saturday morning, Hornish Jr. posted a fast lap time of 52.116 seconds at a speed of 183.744 miles per hour placing the Mobil 1 machine in the 37th starting position.
“Talladega Superspeedway is one of the few tracks where qualifying is not a huge factor,” said Hornish Jr. "Racing here is all about drafting and patience. The Mobil 1 Dodge was good in drafting practice yesterday and I think we will have a strong run on Sunday. It’s like a game of chess. You can’t rush and you have to make good decisions to position yourself for the final laps of the race.”
The Aaron’s 499 will air live on FOX on Sunday, April 27, 2008 beginning at 1:00 p.m. EDT. The race will also be broadcast live on MRN beginning at 2:00 p.m. EDT.
Driver: Sam Hornish Jr.
Position: 37
Speed: 183.744
Time: 52.116
Pole: Joe Nemechek
Speed: 187.386
Time: 51.103